DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

SEAFRET THE DUNWELLS

TICKETS £40(Adult), £30(Under 18) & £130(Family Ticket)

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LUCINDA WILLIAMS

Three time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter, whose attention to detail has produced a catalogue of remarkably high quality material including the universally acclaimed Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Her efforts have been rewarded with fifteen Grammy nominations and she was named ‘America’s Greatest Songwriter‘ by Time Magazine.

Williams has just announced a short UK tour promoting her new album The Ghosts of Highway 20. Recorded in the middle of arguably the most prolific period of her nearly four decade career, The Ghosts of Highway 20 is unlike any other Williams’ album. The narratives revolve around the 1500 mile Highway 20 (aka Interstate 20) that runs in part from Georgia to Texas. Williams’ experiences and connections to these areas are the basis for one of her most uniquely personal albums yet.

THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN

The world renowned all-singing, all-plucking superstars return with their toe-tapping music, hilarious banter, and sheer superlative entertainment. Last year they celebrated 30 Plucking Years of ukulele action, this year they will have been active for One Billion Seconds. See and hear for yourself why the appeal of the Ukes of GB (the original Ukulele Orchestra, the oldest and the best) and their hilarious, entertaining, witty shopping trolley dash through all genres of music has led to sold out shows all over the world from the Royal Albert Hall to Sydney Opera House.

PAUL MERTON’S IMPROV CHUMS

Paul Merton, is one of the UK’s most popular comedians, and with his highly renowned Impro Chums: Mike McShane, Lee Simpson, Richard Vranch and Suki Webster, creates a brand new show every night, inspired by suggestions from the audience as well as their own finely honed improvisational skills.

Paul Merton is a founder member of The Comedy Store Players and still appears at the Comedy Store most Sundays. He is a regular guest on Radio 4’s Just A Minute and is an established face on TV shows such as the Have I Got News For You and Room 101.

Mike McShane has appeared at the Menier Chocolate Factory in the musicals Little Shop of Horrors and Assassins and his Film/TV work includes Robin Hood Prince of Thieves & Doctor Who.

Lee Simpson became a member of the Comedy Store Players in 1989, and Artistic Director of Improbable, one of the country’s foremost theatre companies.

Richard Vranch does voiceovers for adverts and documentaries, and as Dr Vranch has appeared on Radio 4’s Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox.

Suki Webster is a regular guest of The Comedy Store Players and has toured the world with Paul Merton And His Impro Chums.

THE SHIRES

The Shires gave a spellbinding performance at last year’s festival, following their performances at Pocklington Arts Centre in 2014 & 2015. Since then the act, made up of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, have had an amazing twelve months completing a fourth sell out UK tour, becoming the first ever UK act to play the legendary Grand Ole Orpy in Nashville, going Gold with their debut album “Brave”, and most recently joining The Corrs on their huge arena comeback shows.

GRETCHEN PETERS

In 2015, The Telegraph named her one of the best 60 female singer-songwriters of all time and her album, ‘Blackbirds’, debuted at #1 on the UK Country chart and in the top 40 UK pop chart, and was awarded International Album of the Year and Song of the Year (for “Blackbirds”, which Rolling Stone called “one of the most affecting murder ballads since Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” left a trail of corpses strewn across the American landscape” at the UK Americana awards in February 2016.

Hailed by many as one of Nashville’s best contemporary singer-songwriters, Gretchen Peters’ intelligent and introspective songs have been covered by pop, country, blues and folk artists all over the world including Patty Loveless, Bonnie Raitt, Shania Twain and Martina McBride with the CMA Song of the Year ‘Independence Day’. She possesses a rare ability to drive a strong point, yet capture it eloquently in song. That ability has won her two Grammy nominations and sold her millions of records worldwide.

BADLY DRAWN BOY

It was June 2000 when the Mercury Prize-winning, seminal ‘The Hour of the Bewilderbeast’, announced the arrival of the badly drawn genius of Damon Gough. It’s been a curious, wonderful, inimitable, unpredictable career so far of major prizes and minor incidents, all possibilities and magic in the air. Badly Drawn Boy’s soundtrack to the 2002 film About A Boy, starring Hugh Grant, remains one of Badly Drawn Boy’s most critically acclaimed and successful albums (certified Gold in the UK) and spawned two singles, ‘Silent Sigh’ and ‘Something To Talk About’.

DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD

In February the band won three awards at the inaugural UK Americana Music Awards winning UK Song of the Year (Clear Water), UK Album of the Year (What Kind Of Love) and UK Artist of the Year. As Mojo Magazine wrote recently “if there’s a better country soul band in the UK hats may have to be eaten”. Q Magazine wrote of their recent award winning album “a gold standard album for UK Americana”. The Scottish Daily Express as part of its 5 star review wrote “rivals Springsteen in its blue collar brilliance”.

This band has always had a quality to set them apart but incredibly they just get better and better.”What Kind of Love” (an album that is a genuine classic for your collection by the way) has added more than a tinge of Northern Soul, clearly has Van Morrison as an influence and nods a head to Dexys – all this wrapped up in a comforting blues-rock blanket. If you could create a band from scratch to deliver this kind of music it would be Danny Wilson and his wonderful troupe – guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

SEAFRET

Hailing from Bridlington, Jack Sedman (vocals) and Harry Draper (guitar) aka Seafret, are one of the most talked about bands of 2016 following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Tell Me It’s Real. Last year the band toured extensively, including a stand-out performance at Glastonbury, and built up a large fan base. This was followed up by a sold-out UK tour and support slots with Hozier and Kodaline.

THE DUNWELLS

There may only be two members with the same surname, but The Dunwells are very much a band of brothers consisting of two siblings Joe (vocals, guitar) and David Dunwell (vocal, piano, guitar) and their two close school friends, Rob Clayton (bass) and Adam Taylor (drums). The Dunwells’ songwriting has grown over the years since school, enriched by extensive US and UK touring in support of the band’s 2013 debut, Blind Sighted Faith. “There were so many euphoric moments on tour, and we’ve tried to capture those feelings in the new songs,” says Dave. Those memorable moments included an appearance on Late Night With Jay Leno and performances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Fest, South by South West and the Bonnaroo Festival, as well as sold out shows across the UK. The band are touring promoting their acclaimed new album Light up the Sky.

ORPHAN COLOURS

Orphan Colours are an alt-country rock band from London UK. Formed by ex ahab singer/songwriter Steven ‘Seebs’ Llewellyn. The line-up consists of Noah and The Whale lead guitarist Fred Abbott, ex-ahab singer Dave Burn on vocals and guitar, Danny and The Champs drummer Steve Brooks and bass player Graham Knight.

The dynamic 5 piece band swing from rocking Tom Petty and Ryan Adams alt-country influences to the brooding sound-scapes of the likes of Bon Iver and Beck. Ahab’s sound has not entirely disappeared, their bluegrass tinged country can be heard on songs like ‘Jenny’ and ‘Doing Alright’, with many of the songs featuring 3 part harmonies.

BARCODE ZEBRA

Barcode Zebra are a Yorkshire-based soul/pop/funk band, who were one of the highlights of last year’s festival & topped the merchandise sales charts! The band have been receiving critical acclaim for several years from artists, promoters and venues and have supported the likes of Bellowhead, David McAlmont and Paul Carrack. The band are Charlie Daykin (keyboards), Emma Whitehead (drums and percussion), Ruth Wilde (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and new lead vocalist Eve Maule-Cole.

WILDFLOWERS

If you like breezy, supremely melodic, semi-acoustic pop with roots in both the UK folk-rock and US singer-songwriter movements of the late-’60s and early-’70s, then you’ll love Wildflowers, a trio comprising Bennett sisters Siddy (lead vocals, guitar, lyrics) and Kit (who sings and plays accordion and keys) and co-songwriter James Ashbury (who sings and plays mandolin, acoustic guitar and kick drum).

DAN WEBSTER & AMELIA WHITE

Dan mixes folk, country and even a little rock ‘n’ roll, all delivered with his clear, distinctive voice, some great playing and immaculate & unforgettable sound.

Amelia’s music has been described as hard rocking-folkin-alt-art country… Her Albums Blue Souvenirs and Black Doves put her on the map with nationwide critical acclaim in the US. Her latest release, Home Sweet Hotel, has been listed in the top country albums of the year by the Daily Telegraph alongside Buddy Miller, John Moreland, and Bonnie Raitt.

DAISY ALLEN

Daisy is a young singer-songwriter from Pocklington with a stripped-back, acoustic style. Drawing on influences such as Melody Gardot and KT Tunstall, her music has been described as “delicate and elegant”. A regular face at local gigs, she released her first EP, Drift in 2015.

EMPIRE (featuring Sam Griffiths)

A new 4 piece band from York. Confessional, lyrical, atmospheric music referencing the spirit of Bon Iver, Radiohead and The National.

WATCHING PLANES

Watching Planes are influenced by the melodic side of British indie, as well as classic pop & rock, and have amassed a huge ‘back catalogue’ of songs: an eclectic bag of irresistibly melodic tunes with rich vocal harmony, tasteful arrangements and insightful lyrics. This is air traffic control – you have clearance for take-off!

JAKE MORRELL

Blending natural talent, a passionate love for music and a strong, undeniable work ethic is a sure fire way to create musical excellence that moves audiences and resonates with the soul. This is the simple concept behind folk – rock artist Jake Morrell – to create high quality music and deliver performances with flair, energy and panache. And boy does he deliver.

ACCESS TO MUSIC STAGE – PLATFORM 3

Curated by Charlie Daykin, this stage will showcase some of the college’s finest emerging talents. Access to Music, based in York, is the UK’s first choice destination for school leavers who want to follow their passion for popular music and creative media.

ABOUT

The festival is organised by the award-winning Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC), a not-for-profit organisation. The venue, which has a 200 seat theatre and 70 seat studio, is located in a rural East Yorkshire market town. Since opening in 2000 PAC has gained a nationwide reputation for its live event and cinema programming and is regularly praised for ‘punching above its weight’. The venue has a diverse range of events throughout the year featuring live music, theatre, comedy, talks, live broadcasts, exhibitions, workshops and community events and has attracted over 400,000 visitors since opening.

PAC has gained vast experience of staging public events having promoted in excess of 600, in addition to this the venue has programmed music and comedy stages at various regional festivals and organised three highly successful Pocktoberfests featuring headline acts Billy Bragg, Echo & The Bunnymen and Richard Hawley.

For Platform Festival, PAC takes over The Old Station located in the town centre. The Grade II listed building was the town’s railway station from 1847 until 1965 and is now owned by Pocklington School.

THE VENUE

The Old Station, which opened October 4th 1847, was designed by George Townsend Andrews and is a Grade II listed building. It closed on November 27th 1965 when the York to Beverley line was discontinued.

Pocklington is a small market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, approximately 13 miles (21 km) east of York. The town’s skyline is dominated by a 15th-century tower of All Saints church. The town’s architecture is a mixture of quaint old houses and modern buildings and the town has several unusual street names reflecting its history from the Iron Age onwards.

GALLERY

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USEFUL INFO

Cash machines

Cash machines are located throughout the town centre – HSBC, Barclays, Natwest and Nationwide.

Disability Access

Platform Festival aims to provide access to all entertainment on site and we will always endeavour to provide assistance where necessary.

The site includes disability friendly toilets.

First Aid & Security

First Aid and Security will be on hand throughout the weekend and attending staff will be visible.

Food & Drink

We kindly ask that you do not bring picnics, a range of food and drink outlets are available – please support our excellent suppliers. Please note that there is no glass to be used on the festival site.

General Information

In the schedule of events, all items and timings may be subject to last-minute changes at the discretion of the Festival committee. All doors are due to open 60 minutes before the performance is scheduled to commence.

The Festival site will officially open to the public on Tuesday 12th July to Friday 15th July at 6.30pm each night and from 12.00pm on Saturday 16th July.